Ben Stiller ventures in the jungles of ‘Nam to helm and star in this V.C. blasting, napalm snorting, Hollywood skewering, politically uncorrect comedy. He’s not alone as Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr. has his back in this hilarious film.
Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) is a fledgling film director that has been put in charge of mogul movie producer Les Grossman’s (Tom Cruise, in a hilarious, heavily made-up turn) Vietnam war film.
The veteran who wrote the book on which the film is based, John “Four Leaf” Tayback (Nick Nolte), sees that Cockburn is going to cock up the film with the amount of egos on the set.
Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) is a successful action star whose Hollywood standing is beginning to fade. Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downy Jr.) is an Australian actor who has won the Oscar five times. He’s gone through controversial skin pigmentation so that he can play the African American sergeant in the war film. Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) has starred in a series of fart comedies playing multiple characters of the fatty family and also has a drug problem. Rapper Alpha Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) sells a line of energy drink called Booty Sweat and is making his film debut in the picture.
The production has been shooting for a week and is already a month behind. “Four Leaf” convinces Cockburn that the way to shoot the film is to drop the stars in the jungle, which has been rigged with explosives, and to shoot it for real.
However, fate intervenes and the actors fall into the territory of the Flaming Dragon drug gang. Even better is that the actors still think they’re shooting the movie
Tropic Thunder is a biting satire on the madness of Hollywood. Stars just have to have their TIVO no matter where they go, or a whole host of other demands. Ben Stiller has assembled a fantastic cast for this send up.
Robert Downey Jr. has to be seen to be believed as the manic Aussie who goes to the very politically incorrect extreme in having his skin dyed to play a black man - saying something about the actors that immerse themselves so into roles that they can’t determine who they are anymore. What’s even better is that there’s a real African American in the cast of the film and he’s not buying Downey’s Al Jolson impression. Hilarity ensues.
This edition adds 13 more minutes of footage. I was a bit disappointed that purchasers of this edition didn’t get both cuts of the film. It’s still a laughfest, but if you’re one that doesn’t like raunch they you might be more offended than guffawing.
I thought it was great and perfectly captured that superficiality that tinsel town appears to have in spades.
Tropic Thunder is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.
Disc one features a filmmaker’s commentary with director Ben Stiller, writer Justin Theroux, producer Stuart Cornfeld, production designer Jeff Mann, cinematographer John Toll, and editor Greg Hayden. The cast commentary features Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey, Jr. There are also 11 minutes of previews for other Dreamworks DVDs and a 2-minute Dreamworks public service announcement about respecting those with intellectual disabilities (since the film took some heat from advocacy groups no doubt).
Disc two starts with the 4-minute “Before the Thunder” which talks about the ideas that were formed before the film actually went into production. The 6-minute “The Hot LZ” is about the opening battle footage. The 6-minute “Blowing Shit Up” is about the special effects that’s used to blow shit up. The 7-minute “Designing the Thunder” talks to Jeff Mann about his work on the film. Next are 22 minutes of interviews about each of the cast members.
The 30-minute “Rain of Madness” is a documentary in the style of Hearts of Darkness. There are also 22 minutes of dispatches from the director of “Rain of Madness.” Next is a selection of deleted scenes, extended sequences and an alternative ending. First up is a 2-minute introduction by Stiller and editor Hayden, who also provide commentary in the section.
There are 3 minutes of deleted scenes, 11 minutes of extended sequences, and the alternate ending runs 3 minutes. Stiller and Hayden also introduce Tom Cruise’s makeup test (2 minutes). Next is the hilarious 4-minute sequence from the MTV Movie Awards. Stiller also wanted to provide full mags of film that show the improv that the cast came up with (33 minutes). Finally, you get 3 minutes of video rehearsals.
Tropic Thunder may not be for all tastes, but those with black senses of humor will have something to guffaw about. I thought it was great and perfectly captured the worst that Hollywood has to offer from its big stars. Ben Stiller shoots and scores with this mad, star filled comedy.
Tropic Thunder (Unrated Director's Cut) is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a Jan. 26th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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